World Cup Betting Odds

The World Cup 2018 gets underway on June 14, but the majority of online bookmakers have already priced up each side’s probability of success in Russia. We’ll keep you updated with all the major news and views ahead of the summer tournament here at BettingTop10 as we look forward to all of the action getting underway.

No side has successfully defended the crown since 1962, when Brazil dominated world football. Germany beat Argentina in a close final held in Brazil back in 2014, following a memorable tournament that included a humbling 7-1 defeat for the hosts at the hands of the eventual winners. The final odds are likely to change many times prior to kick off, but it’s always interesting to take a look at the early outright prices and odds.

How is the outright market formed?

The outright market for the World Cup 2018 can be extremely volatile and one piece of worrying injury news could send a side’s odds spiralling. Soccer traders base their calculations on many factors including recent form, previous history in the tournament and which group they have been drawn in. If a top team is drawn alongside lively outsiders who could cause them problems, their odds may drop as a result.

At this stage, it’s not easy to make predictions as we don’t know the conditions of the teams involved or which squad members may be suffering from injury. Odds will also begin to tumble if there are rumours of disharmony in the camp reported by the media ahead of the tournament getting underway.

It’s always a good idea to compare prices between bookmakers before deciding where to place a bet. Each trader will have a vastly different idea of how a team may fare and you might get better returns by shopping around. Our recommended operators can be found here.

Who are the favourites to win the World Cup 2018?

Brazil aren’t far behind the market leaders and are currently top of the FIFA rankings. They’ve been excellent in their qualifying matches and have conceded just twice in their last nine competitive games. They scored after just 12 seconds against Australia recently and could be difficult to stop at this tournament.

Argentina, who hosted and won in 1978 and were crowned champions again in 1986, are also in the sights of the bookies. Their not-so-secret weapon is top goalscorer, Lionel Messi, who has been named Fifa’s player of the year 5 times.

Spain are also prominent in the betting, and are currently 6th place in the Fifa rankings despite being knocked out in the group stages of the 2014 tournament. The 2010 World Cup winners have also drawn in Group B with current European champions, Portugal, so they will have their work cut out for them.

There are also decent winner odds on France following their defeat in the final of the European Championships.

Which other teams are in the betting?

There will be 32 teams playing in the World Cup 2018 spread across 12 different venues and there are a number of sides in with a chance of making it to the final.

Portugal were a bigger price ahead of the 2016 European Championship but still managed to defy expectations and knock out market leaders and hosts France in the final.

Australia are around 750/1 with the majority of bookmakers but should the Socceroos secure their place at the tournament, their odds are likely to shorten.

More Crucial Betting Information to Come

As we get closer to the World Cup 2018, we’ll keep our eye on the latest developments in both qualifiers and the betting markets. Here at BettingTop10, we’ll keep you updated of any major changes in the odds and bring you all of the build up to the fascinating tournament kicking off in June 2018.